Your cart
We need to confirm you're 18 or over before we take an order.
It is against the law to sell or supply alcohol to, or to obtain alcohol on behalf of, a person under the age of 18 years. An adult signs for every delivery. Liquor licence LIQP000000000 (demo).
Demo checkout
This is where a live Ember Hill site hands your cart to the winery's own wine platform, such as Commerce7, Shopify or OrderPort, for payment, freight and club pricing.
Nothing has been charged and nothing will be sent: Ember Hill is a demo built by Newcastle Web Co.
A Hunter Valley wine tour takes the driving off your hands and the planning off your mind. Here is how the main kinds of tour differ, what to ask an operator before you book, and what a stop at our cellar door in Pokolbin looks like.
Hunter Valley wine tours take the driving off your hands, so everyone in the group can taste, and they take the planning off your mind, because someone who knows the roads has already worked out the day. The main choice is between a small-group tour, where you share a minibus with other guests, and a private tour, where the car, the driver and the timetable are yours. Both can stop at Ember Hill in Pokolbin. This guide sets out how the kinds of tour differ, what to ask before you book, and what happens when a tour pulls in at our cellar door.
We're a winery, not a tour company, so we won't rank operators. We see a lot of tours arrive, though, and we know which days go well.
Pokolbin's cellar doors sit close together, but the roads between them are narrow country lanes that get busy on a Saturday afternoon. Tasting pours are small, and they still add up across three or four stops. A tour solves both problems at once: nobody has to drive, and nobody has to choose between a tasting and getting home safely.
A tour also does the joining up. A good operator knows which cellar doors take groups, which need a booking, how long the drive is between them, and where lunch fits. That leaves you free to pay attention to the wine.
The most common choice. A minibus collects you from your accommodation in the Hunter, visits three or four cellar doors and usually stops for lunch. You share the day with other guests, which keeps the price per person down and suits couples and friends who enjoy meeting people.
The trade-off is the timetable. The route and the stops are set in advance, so you won't always choose the wineries, and the day moves at the group's pace.
Your own car and driver for the day, from a sedan for two to a minibus for a larger party. You choose the stops, set the pace and change the plan as you go. It costs more, but split across a group of six or eight it can come close to small-group prices, and it's the usual choice for birthdays, hens' days and anyone who has a list of cellar doors they want to see.
Some day tours pick up in Sydney or Newcastle and bring you back in the evening. From Sydney it's about 2 hours 15 minutes each way to Pokolbin, so a full day from the city means less time in the vines. From Newcastle it's about 50 minutes, which leaves a relaxed day. If you're coming from Sydney, our post on a Hunter Valley day trip from Sydney sets out the timing.
In parts of Pokolbin, cellar doors are close enough to visit by hired bike. It's a lovely way to spend a mild autumn day, but the same care applies on a bike as in a car: keep the pours small, drink plenty of water, and keep the route short. Summer days in the Hunter often reach the thirties, so save cycling for the cooler months.
Every operator describes their day a little differently. These questions make tours easier to compare.
Every wine at Ember Hill is traditional method sparkling, made in Pokolbin and aged on its lees in the cellar dug into our hill. For a tour, that makes a useful change of pace among the semillon and shiraz the Hunter is known for.
The cellar door is open daily, 10am to 5pm. Tours can stop in one of three ways:
If your tour runs Friday to Sunday and someone in the group wants to see how sparkling wine is made, the riddling room tour at 11am or 2pm takes up to 10 people down into the cellar for 75 minutes, with a tasting at the end. It goes down stairs, so tell us if steps are hard for anyone.
All of our experiences are for guests 18 and over, and we check ID for anyone who looks under 25.
Send us the date, the number of guests and your arrival window through our contact page, and we'll confirm a slot. If you're running late, call ahead from the road and we'll move you to the next hour where we can, rather than rush the pour. If the group would like lunch afterwards, book Lees, our restaurant, at the same time: it serves lunch Thursday to Monday, noon to 3pm.
Autumn and spring are the most comfortable for touring, with mild days and the vines at their best. January is vintage, when the slope smells of crushed fruit, though the days are hot. Winter is quieter on weekdays, with clear, cool days and fewer buses on the road. Saturdays are busiest in every season, so a Friday or a Sunday gives you more room at the bench.
For a longer stay, our post on things to do in the Hunter Valley plans a full weekend, and our visit page has opening hours and directions to the cellar door.
Questions
Most fall into four groups: small-group day tours in a minibus, private tours with your own car and driver, longer day tours that pick up in Sydney or Newcastle, and self-guided options such as bike hire between cellar doors that sit close together. Small groups suit couples and friends who are happy to share a day. A private driver suits a celebration or anyone who wants to set the pace and choose every stop.
A typical day tour stops at three or four cellar doors with lunch in the middle. More than that and the wines start to blur, and you spend more of the day getting on and off the bus than tasting. When you compare tours, ask how long each stop lasts. Forty-five minutes at the bench is enough for a proper tasting; twenty minutes is a quick pour.
Yes. Tour operators and private drivers are welcome at our cellar door in Pokolbin, daily from 10am to 5pm. Groups of 9 to 20 are $35 a person, booked ahead, and we hold a bench with the wines open and cold. Smaller groups join the $20 cellar door tasting on the hour. Ask your operator to send the date, the numbers and an arrival window when they book.
Yes, especially for Saturdays, long weekends, and spring and autumn, when the best small-group and private tours book out first. Book the tour before lunch and accommodation, because the tour sets the timetable for both. If you want a particular cellar door or experience on the day, such as our riddling room tour on a Friday to Sunday, tell the operator when you book so they can build it in.
On many day tours it is, often at a winery restaurant or a set stop on the route, but not on all, and private tours usually leave it to you. Check what the price covers before you book. If you'd like lunch at Lees, our restaurant, ask your operator to book a table for the group. Lees serves lunch Thursday to Monday, noon to 3pm, and weekend tables go first.
Yes. Order at the bench and we ship free on 6 bottles or more to NSW, the ACT, Victoria and Queensland, and free anywhere in Australia on 12 or more. An adult signs for every delivery. It saves carrying bottles from stop to stop on a warm bus, and leaves room on the seat beside you. If you'd rather take a few home, they can wait in the cellar door fridge until you leave.
The cellar door is open every day from 10am. Walk in on a weekday, or book a tasting for the weekend.
